Hot chips, good conversations and “sexier pursuits”: the magic formula of queer nightlife

“Are nightclubs closing down because young people prefer taking K with their cats? Were sex clubs better in 2002? Has gentrification closed the Sly Fox? Will the Tool Shed still sell amyl in 2024?...”

A new immersive art project is asking all the burning questions about nightlife and queer community in Sydney. In collaboration with a diverse group of LGBTQIA+ folks from different generations, intrepid art collective Field Theory brings Rush (Oct 27-28, 7-10pm), a loving and hazy reimagining of our experience of the queer club, to the landmark 2022 edition of Liveworks Festival of Experimental Art at Carriageworks. We spoke to artists Sarah Rodigari and Lara Thoms from Field Theory about this hugely ambitious, incisive, and ultimately celebratory work. 

“We were looking into the history of wrap parties in Sydney and alternative rave cultures and club cultures, alongside a history of gentrification and Sydney's changing lockout laws. And this idea of a very specific image of Sydney as this kind of wild party town, but it also has very specific nightlife cultures and laws around that,” says Sarah.

Filling up Bay 17, one of the largest spaces inside Carriageworks for a few hours each night, Rush is a free experience that invites the audience to explore a series of performance stations. You can participate as a clubber, a voyeur, a chatty social butterfly, or anything else you’d like to be. “It'll be quite a dark space, which I think we all recognise can be pretty important in a nightclub situation,” Lara explains.

“At each of those stations will be a person from the local queer community from different generations, different interests, different backgrounds. And they will be offering a sort of participatory exchange. Not anything too scary, mostly gifting things, really. Throughout these few hours, it'll be this kind of immersive music and interview experience where we talk to these community members about the history of Sydney's nightlife, about the future, about what they're doing, about who's there – and it'll take on this quite eclectic and responsive modality with a great soundtrack and live editing by DJ and sound artist Del Lumanta.”

Rush is a sort of sister event to the much anticipated return of Day for Night (Sat Oct 29), a legendary 12-hour party experience in the Liveworks program. From midday to midnight, it transforms Carriageworks into a dancefloor heartland, with intergenerational artists and queer performance legends. After two nights of the full-sized Rush experience, a smaller version will be part of the extravaganza on Saturday. “I think they're perfect sisters, because we're talking about those kinds of events within our work. So Day for Night will probably get talked about in Rush, and Rush will be in Day for Night. So it all just links up together!” says Lara.

Field Theory surveyed people from a broad age range (from early twenties to 50 and up) about what they want from a queer clubbing experience. The experiences on offer at Rush are direct responses to the survey. Responses were about a whole lot more than dancing, ranging from “a chance to really chat and get to know a stranger” to “hot chips” and “sexier pursuits”.

The club can be more than just a late-night dance party

With Sydney’s nightlife still building back up to its former glory after years of lockouts and lockdowns, it's an integral time to take a deep dive into the makings of Sydney’s subcultural spaces. And with Sydney WorldPride bringing a supersized collaboration with Sydney Mardi Gras to the Harbour City in 2023, along with a swathe of international visitors hungry for big nights out, it's an even more integral time to look into what the future can hold. Plenty of us are excited to see that legendary Oxford Street gay club Arq is teasing a return, and we’re grateful that lord mayor Clover Moore has plans to revitalise the area ahead of Pride. However, queer gatherings expand far beyond the Pink Mile, and authentic community safe spaces are not a formula that can be easily replicated when corporate entities are involved. 

“The club can be more than just a late-night dance party. Especially with generations that may not be looking for experiences relating to being intoxicated. So we will offer a variety of unexpected and expected exchanges and conversation,” says Lara.

During the research period for Rush, lockdowns hit, and the collective took this as an opportunity to connect with young people through LGBTQIA+ youth charity Twenty10. They wanted to find out how “the youth” feel about the shifting culture, and where they hang out now. “It actually turns out that not much has actually changed. People still meet on the steps of Town Hall, people are still hanging out in Camperdown Cemetery,” says Sarah. 

The need for cross-generational connection is a key theme explored in Rush, and this is something integrated into the experience through the survey participants, and the collaborative artists involved. This includes music maker and queer space maker (and one half of Stereogamous) Jonny Seymour; Sex Intents; Fijian/Australian artist Salote Tawale; international party dad and nightlife personality Kelly Lovemonster; kaisha lux; performance artist and “astrologer, healer, slut, and vacuous tastemaker” Micha Couellm; and artist and writer Ju Bavyka.

“I think the intergenerational connection is actually on one level, really alive and well in Sydney through places like the Bearded Tit and through events like Club Kooky,” says Sarah. “But I think that becomes harder because of restrictions on licensing venues, and also the need to kind of promote and present queer culture within a very particular way that might feel less inclusive or more inclusive [depending on who you are]. 

“[This project is] really thinking about how language changes, and how historical moments are redefined through the generations. And I think there's a space for that [intergenerational] connection. It is, I don't want to say lost, but I think it's in the process of being redefined.”

Rush is a three-hour durational experience happening at Carriageworks, Eveleigh, on October 27 and 28 from 7pm. Entry is free and registration is not required. Audio Description for participants with low vision or blindness is available. Find out more here. Rush is also part of Day for Night on October 29, noon-midnight. Tickets are $45 and you can get them here.